Latin Proverbs and Fables Round-Up: April 21

Here is a round-up of today's proverbs and fables - and for previous posts, check out the Bestiaria Latina Blog archives. If you have not downloaded a free PDF copy of Brevissima: 1001 Tiny Latin Poems, it's ready and waiting, as is Mille Fabulae et Una: 1001 Aesop's Fables in Latin. If you prefer the heft of a book in your hand, you can get the books in printed form from Lulu.com.

HODIE (Roman Calendar): ante diem undecimum Kalendas Maias.

MYTHS and LEGENDS: The art image for today's legend shows Apollo and Marsyas; you can also see the legends for the current week listed together here.

TODAY'S MOTTOES and PROVERBS:

TINY PROVERBS: Today's tiny proverb is: Optimum pati (English: To endure is best).

3-WORD MOTTOES: Today's 3-word verb-less motto is Fides, spes, caritas (English: Faith, hope, and charity).

ANIMAL PROVERBS: Today's animal proverb is Canis sine dentibus vehementius latrat (English: A dog without teeth barks the more fiercely).

POLYDORUS: Today's proverb from Polydorus is: Ut pisces hamo, ita homines beneficio capiuntur (English: As fish with the hook, so are men captured by favors).

PROPER NAME PROVERBS: Today's proper name proverb from Erasmus is Iapeto antiquior (English: Older than Iapetus; from Adagia 5.2.51 - the ancient Titan Iapetus was a distant ancestor of the human race, being as he was the father of Prometheus).

GREEK PROVERBS: Today's proverb is Τὸν καπνὸν φεύγων, εἰς τὸ πῦρ ἔπεσον (English: Fleeing the smoke, I fell into the fire).

BREVISSIMA: The distich poster for today is Vita Aliena Magistra. Click here for a full-sized view; the poem has a vocabulary list and an English translation, too.

And here are today's proverbial lolcats:

TODAY'S FABLES AND SONGS:

FABULAE FACILES: The fable from the Fabulae Faciles widget is Avarus et Poma Marcescentia, a wonderful story about a greedy old man and his rotten apples (this fable has a vocabulary list).

MILLE FABULAE: The fable from the Mille Fabulae et Una widget is Cornicula et Ovis, a story about a crow who is both wicked and sly.

Greek Bible Art - and Latin and English, too. Below is one of my Greek Bible Art graphics; for the individual Greek, Latin and English versions of the graphic, see the blog post: εἶδον βιβλίον κατεσφραγισμένον σφραγῖσιν ἑπτά. Vidi librum signatum sigillis septem. I saw a book sealed with seven seals.